Soroptimist Pinellas County, Florida, USA newsletter

SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL OF UPPER PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA P.O. BOX 10535 CLEARWATER, FLORIDA USA 33767 Volume 46, Issue, October, 2009 Online Edition #99
Sam Seltzer's Restaurant Corner of Belleair Road and US HWY #19 Cocktails at 5:15 PM Dinner from 5:30 to 6:30 PM Our meeting will begin at 6:30. Since we do not have to change rooms we may continue eating.. Your telephone committee will be in touch. Our Topic this month is "Violence against Women" Our Speaker Courtney Hendrickson - Outreach Manager at The Haven
President Susan's Letter Mark your calendars for Tuesday, October 27^th – our next club meeting at Sam Seltzer’s. This month’s speaker is Courtney Hendrickson who is the Outreach Manager at The Haven. This is very timely since October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. We will have a new supply of ‘purple’ cards at this meeting, so be thinking of places you can distribute these very important cards. Mel Chase and Gretchen Mitchell have stepped up to co-chair our Women’s Opportunity Awards Program and Kathy Wagner and Barb Janks have also volunteered to co-chair our new Transitional Living Program. Thank you all for your commitment to these very important committees. Please review Minutes of the September meeting and the Treasurer’s Report which are attached. We are also going to include committee reports as part of the SCOUP, so when your committees meet, please send me and Pat a copy of your reports for inclusion. We believe this is a very good way to keep everyone informed and up to date. Our District II Meeting is scheduled for October 16 & 17 at the Sirata Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach and we wish District Director Betsi much success. This is Betsi’s last year as our District Director, so if you are interested in following in her footsteps, let her know. At this meeting we will also be seeking nominations for the Ruby Lee Miner Foundation Board. If that sparks interest, give Betsi a call and she can fill you in on the requirements. Looking forward to seeing all of you on the 27^th … Susan
One of the perks of being on the board under President Susan has been our fun board meetings. We meet on Sunday afternoons at one of our homes for lunch and really productive meetings where we hammer out the details of the club. We don't always agree but we work it out and still are Soroptimist friends. Our hostess this month, Marsha gave me permission to post the pictures of her beautifully decorated for Halloween home. We hope that you enjoy them. The pictures will enlarge. Just click on them.
Terry Sue at the entrance to Marsha's Home.	Susan

Marsha's Halloween Village	Village Closeup
	He joined us for lunch
The cat and the mouse	Even the bathroom was decorated
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT October 2009 Members: Phyllis Cloman, Gretchen Mitchell, Cathy Wagner Rather than hosting recruitment events (wine and cheese, etc.), the Committee would like to try hosting activities or events to which members of the community would typically come, and then using those events to publicize SI of Upper Pinellas and encourage membership. Our initial plan is to host three lunch and learn activities (January, March and May) for professionals. The topics would be financial recovery, when and how to say no, and real estate/mortgage information. We will host these at a convenient location with the cost of the meal provided by local businesses (who would also get to promote their business). We would have a primary speaker on the topic, with a member of our Club serving as host. We would conclude the meeting with information about our Club and membership. There would be no fee for attending (assuming we are able to secure sponsors), although we would ask for a monetary donation to help with our service activities. Members of the Club would be expected to support these activities by encouraging professional women they know to attend, and perhaps attending with them, and by helping to secure sponsors.

Below you will find our Calendar, Lists of our Officers, Committees and Members, Some Committee Reports, Birthdays and other Current Announcements. At the very bottom of this page are Current SIA and SI International Projects. There are live links to SIA for more info. "Live your Dreams" and "Disaster Funds" have been updated. Please page down to read. Previous meeting minutes and the treasurer's report will be attachments on the email that brought you the link to this page.	The Way We Were 2008 -2009 If you want to know our personal history, Click above.

THE BEST FOR WOMEN

Officers 2009-2010
President: Susan Kinney Lowell,
Vice Pres- Phyllis Cloman,
Secretary- Patricia L. Arbutine
Treasurer – Linda Taminini,
Director - Marsha McGrath Director- Mel Chase
Delegate -Terry Sue Turner,
Delegate-Karen Curry

Committee Assignments 2009 -2010
Telephone & Parliamentarian: Terry Sue Turner
Publicity: Dede Haggerty
Growth & Development: Phyllis Cloman
Scoup - SOLT: Pat Arbutine
Directory : Karen Curry
Club Historian: Betsi Lewis
Above the Club: Betsi Lewis
Telephone: Terry Sue Turner

Projects
Women Honoring Women: Phyllis Cloman&Dede Haggerty
Women Opportunity Award: Mel Chase & Gretchen Mitchell
Violet Richardson Award: Marsha McGrath, Katy Cusick
The Ruby Award:(Women of Distinction)(on hold)
Transitional Living Program-Cathy Wagner and Barbara Janks

Information from SIA about the New York TImes ad.

The August 23, 2009, placement of a full-page ad for Soroptimist in the Sunday New York Times Magazine yielded some impressive results!

The SIA website showed a 76% increase in overall visits (as compared to the same time period in 2008) in the week following the ad, as well as an 83% increase in new visitors.
SIA headquarters received 18 introduction forms from prospective members who specifically mentioned the ad.
Jackson Hewitt, the second largest tax preparation firm in the U.S., reached out to us and our “great mission” based on seeing the ad. One of Jackson Hewitt's goals is to give back to the community by helping women succeed, and as a result of the ad, SIA and Jackson Hewitt are currently exploring sponsorship possibilities.

To date, SIA has received more than $17,000 in donations, which represents 50% of the ad cost. Between the donations, new sponsorship and increased awareness about SIA, the ad more than paid for itself!

Thank you to everyone who made a donation and supported this initiative. It’s this kind of forward thinking that will continue to positively impact our ability to fulfill our mission of improving the lives of women and girls—locally and throughout the world!

Sincerely,
Soroptimist Headquarters

Save the Date!

The 41^st Biennial convention is July 7-10, 2010, in San Francisco, California. Don’t miss keynote speakers Victor Malarek, an award-winning journalist and expert on human trafficking, and Cynthia D’Amour, CEO of People Power Unlimited. Visit the Meetings/Convention page for bios on these speakers and check back often for the latest information on this exciting event.

Sign up online at Sam Seltzer's for your birthday wine and lots of other goodies. You can trade the wine for dessert if you like.

Birthdays
Marsha M 1/06 Nancy C.-3/19 Alice S -5/5 Dede 5/12 Cathy W - 5/15
Karen- 1/ 27 Martha G-7/19 Linda- 9/04 Terry Sue T -9/4 Phyllis 9/06 Pat A. - 9/13
Susan K-9/23 Mel C. -10/8 Grace S - 11/22 Katie 12/4 Betsi L- 12/19 Gretchen __ Barbara__

Calendar2009 -2010

Board Meetings
May 17,2009-
Place: Mel Chase's Home
Everyone is
Welcome!! If Interested Email Here.

Meeting
May 26th: at
The Grand Hotel
Presentation of
Women's
Opportunity
Award, Violet Richardson
and
Making a
Difference
for Women

June 6 -Joint Officer
Installation Meeting
Hostess : SI Holiday Isles
Place:
"Sam Seltzer's"-See Invitation

Board Meeting -
June 14th
at
Pat's
Home.

June 23rd
Regular Club Meeting-
Strategic
planning meeting.

July 28th
Club Meeting at Cathy's Home

August 25th

Regular Club
Meeting

Sam Seltzer's
Steak House.

Corner of Belleair Road and US HWY #19

September 22nd
Meeting.
Speaker:

Terrick Moyer, Supervisor of the Transitional Living Program at FamilyResources, our newly adopted service organization.

Founders Day
Oct.3rd

October 16 -17
District II
Meeting
Hostess
Holiday
Isles
Friday and Saturday

Meeting Hotel and Location Sirata Beach Center

October 27th
Meeting

Violence Against Women Presentation
Speaker:
Courtney Hendrickson - Outreach Manager at The Haven

November 24th
Meeting

Shopping Night at
The Silver Queen

November 25th
International Day to End Domestic Violence

December
Christmas Party

January 11th, 2010
National Day of Human Trafficking Awarness

January 26, 2010
Meeting
Human Trafficking
Presentation

February 23rd-
Meeting
Speaker-David Walker about the Census

March 6, 2010 – o Women Honoring Women Luncheon Place:
Clearwater Country Club

March 8th- SIA Live Your Dream Event-International Women's Day

March 23rd
Meeting
Slate of
Officers
Presented

April 27th
Election of
Officers

Awards Banquet.

Service Funds Due March 31st

Dues should be paid April 1st

April 29 - May2-2010
Southern
Region
Conference
Deerfield Beach,Florida

"S.S.
Leg-a-Sea"

May 25th-Meeting
Women's Health Presentation

June - Installation of Officers

June 22nd-Meeting
Wrap Up &
Strategic Planning

E Mail Us

A little bit of FUN!!!!
A treat (Pumpkin Cheesecake) & a joke.

Something New - "This and That" from Marsha McGrath

  I am not beating up on husbands but sometimes it is so true.
(This is the joke section.)
While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant, and resumed their trip. When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table, and she didn't miss them until they had been driving for about forty minutes. By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around, in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses.

All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grouchy old man. He fussed and complained, and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up for a single minute.. To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant.

As the woman got out of the car and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, “While you're in there, you might as well get my hat and the credit card.”

I liked this next one too.

AFTER BEING   MARRIED FOR 44 YEARS, I TOOK A CAREFUL LOOK AT MY WIFE ONE DAY AND SAID, "HONEY, 44 YEARS AGO WE HAD A CHEAP APARTMENT, A CHEAP CAR, SLEPT ON A SOFA BED AND WATCHED A 10-INCH BLACK AND WHITE TV, BUT I GOT TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT WITH A HOT 25-YEAR-OLD GAL. NOW I HAVE A $500,000.00 HOME, A $45,000.00 CAR, NICE BIG BED AND   PLASMA SCREEN TV, BUT I'M SLEEPING WITH A 65-YEAR-OLD WOMAN. IT SEEMS TO   ME THAT YOU'RE NOT HOLDING UP YOUR SIDE OF THINGS."

MY WIFE IS A VERY REASONABLE WOMAN. SHE TOLD ME TO GO OUT AND FIND A HOT 25-YEAR-OLD GAL, AND SHE WOULD MAKE SURE THAT I WOULD ONCE AGAIN   BE LIVING IN A CHEAP APARTMENT, DRIVING A CHEAP CAR, SLEEPING ON A SOFA   BED AND WATCHING A 10-INCH BLACK AND WHITE   TV.

"This and That" From Marsha McGrath

Interesting Facts
You may be well aware of Halloween, but did you know it is based on a pagan holiday called Samhain also called November Eve, Hallowmas, Hallowe’en, All Hallow’s Eve, Feast of Souls, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples and Calan Gaeaf. One of the “Greater Sabbats” during the Wiccan year, Samhain, or “Summer’s end,” marks the death of the Sun-God, who then awaits his rebirth from the Mother Godess at Yule (Dec. 21 in 2009). In the Celtic tradition, the feast of Samhain was also celebrated as New Year’s Eve, as their new year began on Nov. 1. ( from Chase’s Calendar of Events 2009) When Christianity came to Europe, this holiday was replace with All Saints Day on November 1st.

Book Review
Out of the Broom Closet: 50 True Stories of Witches Who Found and Embraced the Craft

“How do you tell your mother you’re a witch? Coming out as a witch isn’t easy. People drawn to America’s fastest growing religion often feel misunderstood, rejected, even discriminated against by friends, family, and coworkers who don’t really know what it means to be a witch. In this one-of-a-kind collection, fifty real-life witches reveal what drew them to the craft, why they chose this spiritual tradition, and how they dealt with telling their families. From the witch who heard the Goddess speak to her during a terrible car accident to the witch who knew she was on the right path when she picked up her first tarot deck, readers will find the encouragement and inspiration they need to practice magic with pride and dignity, no matter where they are on their path.” (The first entry in this collection was written by Fran McGrath’s cousin).

Face Book Members: SIA is now on Facebook. Our local club is also on Facebook.

Dedicated to Dorothy Quick who loved to share her Soroptimist wisdom with us.

You may read SIA Annual report at the SIA Website. Go to the newsroom.

S.O.L.T.

Soroptimists STOP Trafficking,

SIA is pleased to announce Soroptimists STOP Trafficking, a new public awareness project addressing the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation. This new project will provide information cards about sexual trafficking for participating clubs to distribute in the community. In addition, clubs will work to raise awareness through media and public events. The project has been created in response to overwhelming input from clubs and members indicating a desire for an SIA project that addresses this serious global issue.
The project will launch in the United States on Friday, January 11, 2008, the first National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. The launch will begin with a public event at which clubs are asked to distribute specially designed flyers in transportation centers in their area: airports, train stations or bus depots. The event will focus on the public awareness message: "Someone in this transportation center may be here against her will," and will provide an excellent opportunity for public awareness and to gain media exposure.
Participating clubs will be provided with professionally designed cards and flyers; club instructions for the project and launch event; and public awareness materials to ensure the project is a success. The materials will be available in all SIA languages. If your club would like to participate or has any questions, contact siahq@soroptimist.org

Project Sierra -$80000 has been donated so far for this project. 5/2008

Sierra is a four year partnership between Soroptimist International and Hope and Homes for Children which will transform the lives of some of the most deprived children and women in the world.

Project Sierra: A Family And A Future aims to raise £1 million ($2million USD) to help disadvantaged women and children in Sierra Leone face their futures with confidence.

By strengthening families at risk of breakdown, helping young children living on the streets return home and empowering vulnerable young mothers, Project Sierra will enable more children to grow up in a caring family environment - giving them the opportunity to fulfill their potential.

To learn how Project Sierra will achieve this, visit the Project Overview section.

Disaster Relief Fund for Women and Girls

Soroptimist's Disaster Relief Fund for Women and Girls
UPDATE - September, 2009 from SIA Headquarters

Dear Soroptimist,
Recent typhoons and earthquakes in Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan, as well as the wildfires in California, have caused devastating effects. To our knowledge no Soroptimists have been affected, but serious damage has been inflicted in these regions. Headquarters expects that applications for disaster recovery grants will be received as soon as the regions can assess the rehabilitation needs of women and girls.

Soroptimist’s Disaster Recovery Fund disburses grants to Soroptimist regions and clubs to help immediate needs and long-term recovery in times of natural catastrophe. The amount of the grants awarded ranges from US$1,000 to US$20,000.

When disaster strikes, women lack mobility and access to resources, have increased family responsibilities and are susceptible to physical danger. Most often the unmet needs of women and girls after a disaster are not known until after the immediate crisis has subsided. For more information, refer to Soroptimist’s White Paper “Reaching Out To Women When Disaster Strikes.”

At present, funds are low in the Disaster Recovery Fund. You can help build the fund and directly help women and girls recover after disaster by donating now. Donate online or send your contribution to SIA headquarters, 1709 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103 earmarked for the Disaster Recovery Fund. Thank you.
Yours in Soroptimist Service,

Service Funds

Service Funds are due on March 31st of each FISCAL year. (These funds are for the currant fiscal year.) Remember that you are responsible each year for $100 in service funds. You may raise these either by writing a check, advertising in our WHW ad booklet, or by using our banner to have your own fundraiser. All funds raised under our banner must come to our service fund. Each person that participates in an ad hoc fundraiser is still responsible for a total of $100 in service funds.
(Example. 3 members hold a garage sale. They raise $310. The total amount must come to our service fund. All 3 members have covered their service funds. But if 3 members raise $270, each member is still responsible for $10 more to cover their service funds.)

Live your dreams

The following information is from the Soroptimists International of America Website. To read more info, Just click here.. Despite much progress during the last century, women and girls throughout the world continue to face serious challenges. While they represent about one-half of the world's population, women suffer disproportionately from many social problems. Approximately 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people who live on $1 a day are women. More women between the ages of 15 and 44 die due to gender-based violence than cancer, malaria, car accidents and war combined. About 90 million girls around the world are deprived of primary education. These are but a few statistics illuminating the obstacles facing women and girls around the world. Soroptimist created the Live Your Dream campaign to raise awareness about these challenges and inspire women from all walks of life to realize their full potential.

Update from SIA Headquarters - September,2009

Live Your Dream Art Contest

Soroptimist is pleased to announce the second annual Live Your Dream art contest, which invites boy and girl students, ages 4 to 18, to draw a present-day woman who inspires them. SIA encourages all clubs to promote this contest, as it provides a unique opportunity for clubs to engage with schools and generate local publicity. Contest materials are available at LiveYourDreamCampaign.org or in the Live Your Dream Art Contest section at Soroptimist.org.

Good Search

Contribute through GoodSearch
GoodSearch is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates 50 percent of its advertising revenue (about a penny per search) to the user's favorite charity. Ours, of course, is SIA. The pennies add up quickly. Consider that if only 1,000 members, friends and staff search the Internet just twice a day, Soroptimist could earn $7,300 a year - just for doing something we do every day! If we think bigger, for example, 10,000 users searching twice a day will earn Soroptimist $73,000 a year! All you have to do is visit www.goodsearch.com and download the GoodSearch toolbar. Enter 'Soroptimist' in the 'My Charity' field and then every time you search the net on your computer, don't forget to use GoodSearch! Thank you for using GoodSearch to help Soroptimist fund our programs that improve the lives for women and girls. Let's see how much we can get those pennies to add up!
Note from Pat: This is not Yahoo's standard bar

LINK TO THE UPPER PINELLAS HOME PAGE

LINK TO TAMPA BAY AREA SOROPTIMIST PAGE

Link To SCOUP Index

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Copyright 2009. Soroptimist International of Upper Pinellas County

This newsletter sponsored by The Silver Queen